Deep Sea Drilling Vessel
Throughout our history the human race has worked to develop new theories and tech-
nologies in the different branches of science, shedding light on previously unknown realism.
Despite our progress, though there are still unexplored frontier strenching out in front of us
The vast reaches of space , the
ocean depths, the microscopic world, unexplained natural
phenomena. Add to the list the inner layers of our earth.
The structure of the earth is often linkened to that of a hard-boiled egg. The earth''s
coreis like the yolk, while the mantle is like the white of the egg. The earth''s
crust is like the shell of the egg. The highest mountains and the deepest ocean valleys are nomore than ripples on the earth'' crust.
Until recently, scientific study of the inner layers of the earth was through indirec
obser-
vation, using techniques such as the analysis of seismic waves. Over the years this tech-
nology has of course developed, and we have been able to build uan undertanding of many
aspects of the earth''s inner layers. However, these technicques do not allow direct obser-
vations to be made, and so the method of deep sea drilling has been developed to obtain
information directly.
This method involves sending a drill pipe from drilling ship down to the deep ocean floor, and drilling into the earth'' crust. After drilling the drill pipe is pulled up, and the core
sample are used for research. The core samples contain evidence of past climatic fluctu-
ation, animal life, and
changes in the earth''s crust.They are very useful for understanding
changes that have taken place in the earth over long period of time.
Although taking core samples from the ocean depths is more complex than drilling
onshore, there are number of advantages. Because there is virtually no erosion on the sea floor, the crust is undisturbed. The crust is thinnest at the bottom of the ocean, and so the distance to the mantle is shortest there. Deep-sea core drilling also allows detailed obser -
vations of changes in the earth'' crust.
So far, deep sea drilling has been carried out by the JOIDES Resolution, drilling ship
build aroud 25 years ago. Now, a larger and more highly functional drilling ship
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